Rage
by julesmonster
Summary: The time has finally come for Brian and Justin's wedding, but secrets and a maniac killer might be enough to ruin it. 9th stoy in the Rainbow Inn Universe. Slash: B/J, G/D, B/Z, H/Ch.
1. Chapter 1

**Rage**

**By Julesmonster**

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Ninth story in the** Rainbow Inn Universe. **It took some time and went through several rewrites, but here it is. Finally! I hope you enjoy this one; it has a lot of surprises! Jules

**Part One**

October 2007

Justin set aside his paintbrush and decided that he simply wasn't going to get any more work done today. Between the workers scurrying all over the property outside the studio windows, Emmett's voice shouting orders, and his own excitement at the coming wedding, Justin's mind just wasn't on work. It was exactly one week before the wedding and there were a million things to think about. The guys from the Inn were coming on Wednesday and they were having their bachelor party that night. Gus would be arriving on Thursday with his moms and Jenny Rebecca. Then Friday was the rehearsal dinner and Saturday the wedding.

In the meantime, Emmett had landscapers going over every inch of the property to make it look spectacular. There was a large tent being erected near the pool. And the pool… Justin rather thought that was one of Emmett's best ideas. He and Brian had found a guy who was able to construct a platform made entirely of plexiglass to form a dance floor over the pool. Emmett had worked with a lighting designer, the same one who designed the lighting at the loft, to add lighting to the pool that would light it up from below like Babylon at its best. Justin couldn't wait to see how it all looked after it was put together.

Brian had insisted that if they were going to do this, they should do it their way. At first, Justin had images of orgies at the loft or a night in Babylon's back room running through his mind. But the more Brian and Emmett talked, the more Justin pictured Babylon at it's best: fun and bright and glittery and filled with throbbing music. That was a reception that Justin could live with, so he let Brian and Emmett handle the entertainment.

Justin concentrated on working with Emmett on the location, the decorations, the food, the ceremony, the minister, the vows… all the sentimental shit that Brian refused to acknowledge. But Brian had kept the rings from their first attempt and that was enough sentiment from his lover for Justin.

Calvin had taken over their kitchen and there were now two massive appliances—a rented professional grade refrigerator and freezer—in the space where their kitchen table usually stood and portable ovens and warming boxes lined the back windows, blocking the view. Justin knew that both refrigerators and freezers would begin to fill with food in the days to come as Calvin began preparing the food for the wedding. In the interim, they had been banned from the kitchen and were living on takeout and delivery food.

"Justin?" Brian's voice came from down the hall, and Justin called back to him as he finished cleaning his brushed and palette. "I don't know why I bother looking anywhere else. I should just check here first. You're always here or the kitchen, but since the kitchen is closed…"

Justin accepted the kiss to his cheek that Brian offered as he wrapped his arms around the shorter man from behind. "Yeah well, I think I'm done trying to paint this week. This place is a fucking madhouse. I can't concentrate at all. I was trying to paint, but I would spot one of the workers doing something and suddenly, I'm staring out the window for twenty minutes and I've got green paint in the middle of the sky."

"Good, then you have no excuse not to go to the tailor's with me for the final fitting of our suits," Brian said as Justin walked to the storage cabinets and began putting away the tubes of paint and brushes he had used that day. "We'll need to lock up the studio when Gus gets here. Can you imagine the damage he and JR could do with tubes of oil paint?"

"I always lock the studio when I'm not in it," Justin said. "And don't think you're distracting me from protesting this needless fitting. Neither of us have gained or lost any weight since Giuseppe did the last fitting a week ago."

"Justin…"

The blond rolled his eyes and huffed. "Fine, but I want a decent dinner out of this. I want to go to that new place we pass just off the highway."

"No," Brian said adamantly as he followed Justin from the room and waited for his lover to lock the door behind them. "I don't know how you can class that place as decent. I refuse to eat at any place that has clowns in their décor. It's the principle."

"It's your prejudices showing," Justin said. "There is nothing wrong with a restaurant that caters to a family clientele. My mom's been there with Tucker and she said that the food is really good and they do great steaks. And if we eat in the bar side, there won't be any kids around us."

"If we ate at Le Chat Blanc there wouldn't be any kids at all," Brian pointed out.

"And we'd pay five times as much for half the food and I wouldn't like anything on the menu," Justin said. "Besides, we can see if it's a good place to take Gus when he's in town."

"It's not _five_ times the price," Brian muttered. They were walking towards the back of the house, presumably to tell Emmett that they were going out. Brian grabbed Justin's hand and dragged him the other direction. "You can call him from the car. Now, don't try and tell me that you don't love the plateau de fromage at Le Chat Blanc."

"What's not to like?" Justin shrugged and grabbed his jacket from the entry hall closet before they walked out the front door. "It's a plate of cheese. But I can get cheese from the store; I don't have to spend $25 for a few smears of brie."

"You don't have to," Brian said. "But you can afford to. And Gus can learn to like French food." Justin glared at Brian over the roof of the corvette. "Fine we'll eat at the clown place."

"It's called Circus Steakhouse," Justin said. He climbed in the car beside Brian and smiled happily. "And thank you. You'll like it, I promise."

"I had better," Brian muttered and started the car.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

The lights were on in the first floor of the house when Brian and Justin arrived home a few hours later. The landscaper's vehicles were all gone, as was Emmett's little compact, but there was a little Japanese sports car in the driveway.

"That looks like Chase's car, doesn't it?" Justin asked.

"It does," Brian said with a frown. "And those are New Jersey plates."

"What are they doing here so early?" Justin asked.

"Why don't we go inside and find out?" Brian asked dryly. Justin stuck his tongue out at his lover, but he did start walking towards the front door.

They found Chase in the living room reading a book, but House was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey!" Chase greeted them with a smile. "Emmett let us in. Said you would be home soon."

"Why are you here?" Brian asked. "And where's your worse half?"

Justin frowned at his partner. "We weren't expecting you until Thursday."

Chase set the book down and walked over to where Brian and Justin were still hovering near the entryway. "House is being nosey and decided to look around the place. He does that. As for why we're here early… well, I think we should wait for House for that."

"House!" Brian shouted and Justin covered his ears a moment too late to prevent the painful blast of noise.

"You bellowed?" House said as he limped into the hall from the dining room. "Great mansion you have here. You weren't kidding when you said you have room for everyone here. Chase, they have nine bedrooms besides the master suite."

"I thought our place was big," Chase muttered.

"But you need a music room," House told them. "Not a piano to be found."

"Is that why you went snooping?" Chase asked. "I could have brought the keyboard in from the car if I'd known you'd be like this." They'd spent a small fortune on the damned keyboard, more than most people paid for a piano. But House had insisted that he needed a professional quality keyboard.

"The keyboard sucks," House shrugged. "But it'll do for a few days."

"I'm going to pour us some drinks and then you are going to tell me what the fuck is going on," Brian told House.

"Why don't we go to the den," Justin said. "It's more comfortable and we can get the fire going. Have you eaten?"

"Yeah, we had dinner Just outside Pittsburgh," Chase said as they followed the blond down the hall to the cozy room off the kitchen at the back of the house. Brian went directly to the bar and began pouring three fingers of bourbon for each of them. Once the drinks were distributed and everyone was settled, chase said, "Do you remember me telling everyone that House had once been shot?"

"Yeah," Justin said.

"Well, they never caught the guy who did it," Chase said and took a drink from his glass. "About a week ago, House started getting threatening letters, and they said they were from the guy who shot House."

"The writer claimed that, but there was no proof," House said grumpily.

"Not then," Chase agreed. "But there is now. Yesterday, the same guy walked up to us in the parking garage at work and pulled a gun. He didn't say anything, just pointed the gun at House. A woman came by and screamed. She had her two kids with her. I think if the kids hadn't been there, he would have fired, no matter who else was around. He shot him in front of three witnesses last time."

"Idiot couldn't kill me the first time, now he runs away from a couple brats," House muttered, but everyone could tell he was shaken by the whole thing.

"The police are looking for him, but they suggested that we get away from the hospital for a while," Chase said. "We were supposed to come here anyway, and since there's very little to connect us to you, we figured there would be no way he'd find us here."

"Have you talked to Booth or Jethro about this?" Brian asked.

"No need," House said. "The local police are handling things."

"They obviously did a piss poor job the first time," Brian muttered. "Fine. You can hide out here until they catch this nut job. But at the first sign of trouble, I'm calling our friend Carl—he's on the Pittsburgh PD—and then I'm calling Jethro, Tony and Seeley."

"If that guy bloody well finds us out here, I'll be on the phone too," Chase told him. "I have no desire to see that maniac pointing a gun at House again."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two**

The next day was Sunday, so Brian decided that he would be a gracious host and take the boys out sightseeing. Of course his idea of sightseeing was limited. If left up to him, they would have driven to Mount Washington and slowed down long enough for House and Chase to catch a glimpse of the city as they drove by. Justin, on the other hand, arranged for a riverboat cruise to tour the city from the three rivers. He then hustled them all to the Carnegie Science Center and then to the nearby Warhol Museum. He did let Brian make reservations at one of the jazz clubs on the South Side that evening. And afterward, Brian showed off his second home: Babylon.

It wasn't until they were pulling into the driveway at Britin that things went wrong. Not one of them paid much attention to the parked car up at road a little ways, but when Brian stopped the car to punch in the gate code, shots rang out and small bursts of light came from the gun in the hand of a man hiding in the bushes. Everyone ducked and Brian was quick to pull the car through the gates, but it was dark enough that he couldn't be sure that the gunman hadn't made it through as well.

Justin was rushing Chase and House through the front door even as Brian had his cell out and was dialing Carl Horvath.

By first light, their property was swarming with cops. By noon, Brian had hired a private security firm to watch the grounds and house. By three o'clock, a rental car was pulling into the driveway, with three men flashing the guard at the gate their federal IDs and the fourth handing over his ID from the Jeffersonian.

Brian met the car as it pulled to a stop in the circular drive by the front door. "Glad you could make it a little early. I want this son of a bitch dealt with. Bad enough he's shooting at House, but Justin was in the car last night!"

"We're going to get him," Jethro assured Brian.

"How's Justin holding up?" Zack asked.

Brian snorted. "The little twat has been ignoring the whole thing. He's dead set on making this wedding shit happen, crazy gunman or no."

"Where are House and Chase?" Booth asked.

"Justin has them working on favors," Brian said with a shudder as he led the men with their luggage into the house. "Whatever the fuck we need those for."

All the men chuckled at that except for Zack. He remembered his mother planning his sister's wedding and they had made everyone work on the favors for weeks before hand. She'd explained that it was just a small thank you to your guests for coming. It was not only polite, but it was traditional too. Zack could see why Justin was making them and recruiting helpers.

"Thank god you're here," House said when the others came into the dining room where Justin had them working.

The table was filled with people and stuff. In front of House were stacks of photo coasters with fall leaves on them. He was putting photos of Brian and Justin into the coasters. Beside him, Chase had another stack of coasters he was filling with cards with the names of each guest to be used as a place card. Ted and Blake had been recruited as well and were putting the filled coasters together with two extra coaters and tying them with a ribbon so that the guests' names could still be seen. Justin was then boxing them up by table according to the seating chart that he and Emmett had finalized the week before. Emmett, meanwhile, was putting ribbons on leaf-shaped bottles of maple syrup that had personalized tags.

"See what I mean?" Brian said to Jethro.

Jethro shrugged. "It's nice to give something to your guests."

"See!" Justin exclaimed. "It's polite!"

"And tradition," Emmett added.

"There's a simple thank you and then there's overdoing it," Brian muttered as he walked back out of the dining room with Jethro and Booth close behind him.

"Well, we've got to steal House and Chase for a while," Tony told them. "We need to know as much as we can about this guy."

"I'll stay and help, though," Zack offered. "I'm kind of useless in an investigation unless there's a decayed body involved."

"I'll come back to help when I can," Chase told Justin even as he gave up his chair for Zack. "I doubt House will, though."

"That's okay," Justin said with a smile. "My mom and Debbie should be here soon to help. And there's not many coasters left to do."

"We still have to put the birdseed bags together for the ceremony," Emmett reminded him. "And put the napkin holders together with the menus and napkins. The candy boxes were delivered by the chocolatier and they need the matching satin ribbons tied around them. And then we have to sort everything into the boxes for each table." Even as he said that, he began putting eight bottles of syrup in each table box.

"Right," Justin said and turned back to Chase. "We'd love the help."

**XOXOXOXOXOX  
**

In the study, Brian was pouring scotch for everyone as they got settled. He was defending himself to Jethro who was eyeing him for his attitude over the favors. "I don't mind the favors, but you have to understand it isn't just a simple favor. The two of them have come up with ways to personalize everything. The coasters, fine. I'd even understand the napkin rings with leaves and beads on them to '_match the décor_.' It's the personalized water glasses, wine glasses, champagne flutes, tumblers, and beer glasses. That's five fucking glasses per guest. And then there's the hand dipped chocolates and maple candies. And the syrup bottles. And the after dinner mints in little tins. And fuck knows what else. Then they had to order bags so that everyone could carry all their shit home with them! They've spent more than 10 grand just on favors for this wedding."

"That does sound a little excessive," Booth said uncertainly.

"It all looks really nice," Chase said. "I mean, Justin showed us a sample set up for the table and the glasses and candy boxes and coaster and everything match without being too… matching."

"This one volunteered to help when we're done," House informed the others, as if that explained something about Chase.

"Alright, we should get to business," Jethro said. "Tell me what you know about this guy."

"Well, he was a patient," Chase started. "We don't really know who or when. We do know that in the course of treating him, House did something to piss him off."

"I think I told his wife he cheated on her," House said. "But I can't be sure. It was in a dream I had afterward."

"Has anyone gone through your past patient records to try and find him?" Tony asked.

"They're confidential," House said. "Police can't access them."

"We can't, but your people can," Booth said. "We don't need details on the guy's medical condition. We just need a list of past patients who fit the description. Age, height, all that. We can work from that list of names."

"Why didn't the cops in Princeton do that?" Chase asked.

Tony shrugged. "I've worked local law enforcement. A small force like that wouldn't have the experience or the manpower needed to sort through something like this. We, on the other hand, have access to two federal agencies and their resources. We can solve it."

"Better make it quick," Brian said. "We have a wedding in five days. And a bachelor party in three."

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

They spent the next hour going over every detail of each encounter with the gunman. Then Tony and Jethro went to talk to the local police to see what they had found while Booth and House spoke with Lisa Cuddy about getting House's patient records, both regular and clinic, forwarded to them electronically.

Jethro and Tony's visit with the local LEOs was productive. Though they had no jurisdiction over the case, the LEOs were happy to share what they had. It was another case of a small force dealing with a crime they weren't prepared for. If the shooting had happened in Pittsburgh, things might have been different. But this small township was under-manned and had few resources. They usually dealt with B&Es and domestic disturbances, not shootings. They even overnighted the bullets and shell casings they found at the scene to NCIS in DC, care of Abby Sciuto. Tony and Gibbs stopped outside the gate and took pictures of the tire marks the shooter left when he burned rubber getting out of there the night before. Abby might be able to get a trace on the car from those.

House and Chase, in the meantime, had spent two hours sorting through the patient records, using gender, age and height as criteria. They ended up with a list of about seven hundred patients. About one hundred of those were from diagnostics, the rest from the clinic.

"I forwarded the list to McGee," Booth told Jethro when he and Tony got back. "I also gave him a description of the shooter."

"It would be easier if we had a sketch," Tony muttered.

"We do have an artist in residence," Jethro reminded his lover. "I suggest we pull Justin away from the wedding preparations for a while and see if he can't give us a sketch of the guy based on House and Chase's descriptions."

The sketch had to wait until after dinner. Even though dinner was ordered in from the local Chinese place, they had to eat in the living room since the kitchen was taken over by Calvin and the dining room was currently covered in "crap for the wedding," as Brian so pleasantly pointed out.

"Is he still on about the favors?" Debbie asked. "You shit head!" She turned to Jethro and Tony, who were both trying not to laugh at their friend being called profane names by the boisterous redhead. "Did he tell you how much he spent on their suits for the wedding? Or how much he spent on the gifts for their witnesses? Or that Emmett is well within the budget that Brian himself gave him?"

"No ma'am," Jethro said.

Debbie grinned at that and pinched his cheek. "Ooh. I like that. Here's a man with some fucking manners! You should learn something from him, asshole!"

"Fuck off!" Brian replied cheerfully. "And I can complain all I want. It's a privilege that goes with being the cash cow."

Justin grinned. "I let him bitch all he wants. As long as he keeps paying the bills and shows up on Saturday, I couldn't give a fuck what he says about it."

"And fuck you too, Sunshine," Brian said with a scowl.

"Don't let either of them fool you," Jennifer said to the newest members of their extended family. "Brian has had as much to say about this wedding as Justin has. And Debbie's right. He's the one who set the budget, knowing full well that Emmett and Justin would use every penny."

"I think I've lost my appetite," Brian grumbled as he stood up from his place at the head of the table. "For those not still on favor duty, I've got scotch and cigars in the study."

Booth went with Zack to help with the favors, but Jethro and Tony both followed Brian. House looked eager to join him, so Justin and Chase went along with him so that they could work on the sketch from there. Once the sketch was done, however, Chase was eager to get out of the smoky room, so he and Justin went back to the dining room to work while Jethro went to scan and send the sketch to his team in DC.

Ted and Blake had gone and Calvin had taken Debbie home, leaving the room somewhat emptier than it had been all afternoon. Booth and Jennifer were talking quietly while they tied ribbons around the candy boxes. Or Jennifer tied the ribbons and Booth lent her his finger. They had quickly discovered that he was not very good at tying ribbons. Emmett and Zack were by the buffet scooping handfuls of birdseed into little sheer organza bags and chatting like old friends.

"So, Zack," Emmett said with a mischievous smile. "When are you and Seeley going to tie the knot?"

Zack's eyes shot wide and his face became flush. "I… I don't…"

"Emmett!" Jenifer scolded. Apparently he had been loud enough for the other two to hear.

"What? I think it's a perfectly legitimate question," Emmett said defensively. "They've been together for two years now…"

"Not quite," Zack corrected. "Not until January."

"Leave them alone," Justin scolded. "Not everyone is as fixated on weddings as you are."

"I'm sorry," Emmett said, though he wasn't really. He noticed that Seeley hadn't said a word through the entire exchange, but his eyes got a little distant. That was a man on the verge of proposing if Emmett had ever seen one. He was hopeful that they might just have their first wedding at the Inn with those two. And he could probably work it with Brian to turn it into a publicity thing so that they could give a substantial discount….


	3. Chapter 3

**Part Three**

Michael and Ben came the next morning for a reason that only Michael and Brian seemed to know. Predictably, Michael was in a pissy mood after having to talk his way past the armed guards at both the gate and the front door. So when he walked into the house and was faced with even more strangers, he did not react as well as he probably could have. "Jesus Christ, Brian! What the fuck is going on around here?"

"Michael," Brian said calmly. "I'm glad you and Ben could come out. I'd like you to meet some friends of ours." One by one, he introduced the men sitting around the living room enjoying coffee and bagels. "They came here for the wedding."

Michael looked around at each of them, but his eyes kept going back to Seeley. "Why the fuck would you invite that prick to your wedding?"

There was a bit of an uproar when Michael asked that question and it took a few minutes for everyone to settle down enough for Brian or Seeley to respond. Surprisingly, Zack was on his feet and ready to take Michael on, but Seeley held him back. He held his deceptively strong lover in his arms and asked, "So I take it you know me?"

Michael scowled. "Of course I know you. You went to West Liberty High School. You were one of those jock assholes who used to dunk my head in the toilet for fun. You were a year ahead of me and Brian. Right Brian?"

Brian didn't answer. It was obvious to Justin and most of the others that he had recognized Seeley, but had chosen not to say anything.

Zack frowned and looked at Seeley. "Is that true? Were you a bully?"

"Zack…"

"He was one of the worst bullies at our school," Michael chirped, pleased to be able to cause trouble for a person who had once been so cruel to him.

"Seeley?" Seeley let Zack go when he pulled away. "How could you…?" He turned to Brian. "Why didn't you say something?"

"It was a long time ago," Brian shrugged. "It was obvious to me that Seeley isn't the same person now that he was then."

Zack was bewildered by everything that he was learning. It was just too much. After all he had told Seeley about the kids who had bullied him in school, to find out that he had once been one of those kids was hurtful beyond anything Zack could have imagined. "I need… I need to go."

"No one leaves alone," Jethro reminded him. "I'll go with you."

Zack nodded and walked out, grabbing his coat from the hall closet and waiting by the front door fro Jethro to catch up.

Once they were gone, Brian turned on Michael. "You stupid prick! Why the fuck did you have to say anything?"

"Why would you invite him here?" Michael countered.

"I told you why!" Brian shouted. "He's my friend. He's not the same person he was when we were all kids. Just like you aren't that same kid you were back then. Or do you still have a secret stash of sears catalogues so you can jerk off looking at the underwear models?"

House sniggered at that, but Chase elbowed him. In truth, Chase thought that they should probably leave and let Seeley, Brian and Brian's friend work this out in private, but… Well, it was very interesting to watch. "Shut up or they'll kick us out," Chase hissed at his lover. House raised an amused eyebrow at his lover and grinned but was quiet after that.

"Of course I don't still ogle the guys in the sears catalogue," Michael muttered. "I don't even think Sears makes a catalogue anymore."

Brian smirked, his anger fading already. "Of course that would be the thing you focus on."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Seeley asked Brian. "I never realized…"

"Of course you didn't," Brian said easily. "I was younger than you and only one of dozens of kids who your crowd picked on."

"You were… you were the kids who were openly gay," Seeley said slowly as he began to recall. "There was some sort of rally. Wait, Debbie… she organized it? Is that why I knew her?"

"It was an AIDS awareness rally," Michael muttered. "Uncle Vic had just been diagnosed and she was on a kick. She's still on a kick. But suddenly, everyone at school knew we were gay and…"

"And me and my friends weren't very accepting of other people," Seeley said sadly. He looked from Brian to Michael. "I'm sorry. I… There's really no excuse, but I was young and stupid and just as confused as everyone else. More so, given how long it took me to figure out my own sexuality."

"If I still blamed you I would have said something before now," Brian shrugged. Justin hugged Brian, knowing that his lover meant what he said.

Michael wasn't as easily pacified, but Ben whispered something in his ear and Michael nodded and sighed. "Right. Fine. Apology accepted. It was a long time ago." It wasn't the most gracious of speeches but it was enough.

"Is your boyfriend going to be okay?" Ben wondered.

Tony answered for Seeley, "If I know Jethro, he'll talk him around."

"I hope so," Seeley said dejectedly.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

They had been wandering the grounds for more than an hour and hadn't yet shared a single word. Jethro was impressed with the sheer size and scope of the land that Brian and Justin apparently owned. He had seen the maps and the schematics that the security firm had set up. He knew that the entire property was bordered by the same stone wall that was so impressive at the front of the property. He also knew that the security firm had added cameras to the periphery of the property. But they had been walking a path for an hour and hadn't yet reached the western boundary. It had to have cost a fortune to upgrade the security on this place, and on such short notice… Well, he had known that Brian was successful, but the house, the property, the size and scope of their wedding plans all made it very obvious that he was not just successful, but one of the best in his business.

Jethro watched Zack as he trudged through the wooded land. He'd been muttering to himself for a while now, but hadn't invited any conversation. Jethro respected that. He figured the kid needed to work some things out in that supersized brain of his before he was ready to listen, anyway.

"He's a bully," Zack finally said. They had reached a clearing in the woods and Zack sat down on a fallen log. The late October foliage made for a beautiful backdrop, but Zack wasn't in the mood to notice. "I told him about how hard my childhood was because of bullies and he was one of them. If we'd gone to the same school, he probably would have been one of those jerks putting my head in the toilet."

"Probably," Jethro said. Zack looked up sharply at Jethro. He hadn't expected the older man to agree with him. "What did he tell you about his years in Pittsburgh?"

Zack stopped to think for a minute. "He moved out here after his grandfather took him and brother away from their father. He was… not a good father."

"Did he tell you anything else?" Jethro asked.

Zack shook his head.

Jethro nodded, as though unsurprised by that answer. "I dealt with a few bullies in my hometown. Met up with them again years later and hated them as much as an adult as I did as a kid. Not a single one of them had changed. They were still using their positions and power to bully the people of that town. I guess bullies never do change, do they?"

Zack frowned at that statement. "Seeley isn't like that anymore."

"Really?" Jethro asked with feigned surprise. "Well, I guess maybe some bullies might be able to change. But there's really never any excuse for mistreating other people, is there? Doesn't matter how messed up the kid is, he should know better, right?"

Zack was silent again. Seeley was young and vulnerable when he moved to Pittsburgh. He'd lost his mother, been abused and was starting over in a new city; he was probably very insecure. Zack didn't know for sure though, because he hadn't given him the opportunity to explain himself. He should have let him explain. Then again, Seeley should have explained it to him a long time ago and not left it to some stranger to blurt out in a room full of their friends.

He didn't have a chance to think any more about that, however, because suddenly several things seemed to happen at once. Several loud claps of noise rang out and a splinter of wood hit Zack's cheek. Then Jethro was pushing him to the ground behind the log and telling him to stay put while he pulled his gun and went after whoever had shot at them. Zack's heart was racing as the reality of being shot at sank in. The crazy man had tried to shoot him. He might have died and Seeley might never know how much he loves him. Because the reality was that no matter how mean Seeley had been in the past, he was not that way to Zack now and Zack loved him and needed him. Anything else they could work out.

"You okay?" Jethro asked. He was back and placed a hand on Zack's shoulder to reassure him.

"Just a scratch," Zack said as he wiped at the blood on his cheek. It pooled again almost as soon as Zack wiped it away.

Jethro checked it out and handed Zack a handkerchief to put on the cut. "We should head back. The alarm will have sounded at the house and the others are sure to be on their way. Seeley will be worried."

Zack looked around and realized that there were half a dozen security men already looking around the area. He wasn't sure how long they had been there, but he was impressed at how quickly they arrived. He meekly followed Jethro back down the path toward the house.

They had only been walking a few minutes when Seeley and Brian arrived on some sort of all terrain golf cart thing. Seeley was out of the vehicle almost before it stopped and rushing toward Zack. He stopped just before he reached his lover, but Zack had no such qualms and threw himself into Seeley's arms. "I was so scared," Zack admitted.

Seeley held him tightly. "Me too. I'm sorry I never told you. I didn't want to hurt you. And I didn't want to admit that I had been like that as a kid. But Zack, love, I don't know what I would do without you. Please, don't leave me. When that alarm sounded and Brian told us what was going on… God, Zack! I love you so much. Please say you'll forgive me."

"Anything," Zack cried. "I don't care about what happened then, because I know who you are now. I love who you are now. And whatever happened then helped make you into the person I love. I'm sorry I walked off without letting you explain and I do want you to explain it to me. But it doesn't really matter why you did those things, not to me. I just want you to love me."

"I do," Seeley said. "I do love you."

Brian and Jethro watched from a safe distance as the two men reconciled with fierce kisses once the words had all been said. "That's some serious sap there."

"I take it you and Seeley have come to some sort of harmony?" Jethro asked, ignoring Brian's disdain of all things emotional. Jethro may not express every emotion he ever felt, but he recognized that emotion did not make a person weak. In fact, he respected a person who was strong enough to share their feelings.

Brian shrugged and turned to face Jethro. "I've known who Seeley was since that first weekend. I wasn't the one who had a problem with him."

"Tony has mentioned that you've looked at Seeley oddly at times though," Jethro said. "After he said that, I noticed it too."

"I'm not angry with him," Brian denied. "He's not the insensitive jock anymore. And I'm not a skinny fag just trying to get the hell out of a homophobic high school alive. I watched him and let him prove himself to me based on who he is today. Does he sometimes still resemble that kid? Sure. A little. But it doesn't matter."

"It mattered to Zack," Jethro pointed out. "And to your friend."

"Mikey's a drama queen," Brian said easily. "I'm sorry that Zack had to find out this way. I honestly didn't think about Mikey recognizing Seeley."

"Ready to head back?" Seeley asked. He had his arm around Zack who was holding a scrap of cloth to his cheek. "I want Chase to look at his cut and tell us if he needs stitches."

"Let's go." Brian led the way to the vehicle and soon they were on their way back to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part Four  
**

"The security team have reported the incident to the local authorities and turned over copies of the surveillance videos to Abby," Tony told Jethro when they arrived back at the house. Seeley and Zack were with Chase, but Tony and Jethro were both working on catching the bastard who was now taking pot shots randomly at people on the property. "They got a license plate as well. It shouldn't be long before we have an identity on this guy."

"Good," Jethro said. "I want this guy behind bars today."

Tony chuckled. "I'll see what I can do."

Jethro gave his lover a mild glare, but there was no real heat in it. He knew he was being unreasonable, but he wanted his friends out of danger and he wanted Justin and Brian's wedding to go off without any more problems. Tony knew him well and wrapped his arms around Jethro.

"They will all be okay," Tony said quietly. "We'll keep them safe and we'll catch this guy."

Jethro kissed Tony and gave him a rueful smile. "I know. Come on. Let's get on the phone and find out what the team has found out."

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

Much of the day was spent with everyone spread out through the house, working on completely serrate tasks, but by evening they had all regrouped in the living room for dinner. Zack's cheek was taped up with three butterfly bandages and House was convinced that he would end up with a very manly looking scar—though Chase denied that—but he had recovered well from his brush with death. In fact, he was in rather bright spirits until a pouting Michael brought up the bullying again. It was at that point that Jethro led the uninvolved parties, including a very nosey House, from the room, leaving Brian, Justin, Michael, Ben, Seeley and Zack.

"I think you have done enough damage for one day, Mikey," Brian told his friend. "Let it go."

"No, it's fine," Seeley said. "I told Zack I would explain. I don't figure it would hurt for you and Michael to hear that explanation as well." Zack leaned over and kissed his lover softly, supportively, before nodding. "Okay." Seeley took a deep breath and tried again. "When I moved to Pittsburgh, things were… not good. My mother had died and my dad liked to get drunk and take out his anger on me and my brother. We lived in Philly at the time. And then one day my Pops, my grandfather, comes to visit and notices that things aren't good. So he takes me and Jared home with him. I was fourteen at the time, just finishing up my freshman year of high school.

"So you'd only been at West Liberty a few months before we came in as freshmen," Brian clarified.

"Yeah," Seeley agreed. He continued, but his eyes weren't focused on anyone in the room; he really couldn't meet their gazes. "And my first couple months weren't good. I was a wreck emotionally and the other kids weren't real receptive to a new student. So my Pops suggested I go out for football. It worked. I had ready-made friends on the team and… when they did things that I knew were wrong, I didn't stop them. In fact, after a time, I became a regular participant in tormenting other kids. I…"

"You did what you had to do to survive," Zack said quietly.

Seeley finally looked into Zack's eyes and nodded. "Yeah."

"That's pretty much what we all did," Justin said. "I was bashed in the head by a guy that was too scared to accept that he had homosexual tendencies. And while I never want to see the fucker again as long as I live, in some ways I feel sorry for him."

"What?" Brian asked, totally horrified by that revelation. "Hobbs should be—"

"Locked away for hurting another human being," Justin interrupted. "I know. And I agree. But I also know that he didn't get as fucked up as he was all on his own. If he hadn't had parents and school and his jock peers breathing down his neck telling him that being a fag was a horrible thing, maybe he wouldn't have been an ass to me and maybe he wouldn't have taken a bat to anyone."

"That doesn't excuse his actions," Brian said. "He's still the one who chose to pick up a bat and swing it."

"Yeah," Michael said indignantly. "And this guy chose to shove me into a trash can."

"Is that the worst of his crimes?" Zack asked. Neither Brian nor Michael could come up with a worse crime. Zack chuffed a quiet laugh and looked directly at Michael. "That is what has you so worked up twenty years later? He put you in the trash? I almost… because he put you into a trash can."

"He pushed us around too," Michael said, but his voice was somewhat more subdued.

"Zack?" Seeley asked and pulled his lover into his arms. "You okay?"

"Justin was bashed in the head and I was… and he's worried about a tumble into a trash can," Zack said angrily. He started to rise, but Seeley kept tight hold of him. Zack was trembling with anger and pain and so much emotion that Seeley was afraid for him. He whispered soothing words in his lover's ear and did his best to calm the brewing storm. Eventually, he seemed to get through to Zack and the younger man took several deep breaths.

"You want to talk about it?" Seeley asked.

Zack buried his face in Seeley's neck and shook his head no, but he said, "I should though. That imbecile needs to hear it."

"Hey!"

"Shut up, Mikey," Brian said. When Michael turned to Ben, the other man shook his head—Michael needed to hear this—but took Michael's hand in his own in a show of silent support.

"You need to hear it too," Zack said and sat up. "You need to understand that what you did was not right, but it was forgivable."

"And it has been forgiven as far as I'm concerned," Brian added.

Ben nudged Michael, who sighed and said, "Yeah. It's forgiven."

"So, tell me," Seeley said, more concerned with Zack than he was with himself now.

Zack nodded, but he turned to the others to begin his explanation. "I was a very intelligent child. It became obvious from an early age that I would never be like other kids, so my parents sent me off to a private school that would allow me to work at my own pace and graduate early. I was much younger than most of my peers, and small for my age on top of that. I was an easy target for every bully in the school. The worst were three guys from the lacrosse team. They seemed so old and so… big to me then, but they couldn't have been more than fourteen the first time. We were in the same homeroom.

"They liked to pick at me, but most of the kids did that," Zack continued. "I usually ignored it all, because it was safer that way. Then one day I… I did something very stupid."

"Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault," Seeley told him quietly.

Zack nodded and fiddled with the hem of Seeley's shirt with nervous fingers. "I was having a trying day. I overslept, was late for a test in calculus, and then they tripped me in the hall. I landed face first and my books and notes went flying everywhere. And they were laughing. I was lying there so filled with hate and I saw one of my books. I'm not sure why I did it, I knew it would just mean trouble, but I threw that book right at the biggest one's head. They stopped laughing after that."

"What did they do?" Justin asked, his voice filled with concern for his friend.

"Nothing right then," Zack said. "A teacher came along and sent us all to class. But after that, they were out to get me. They would find ways to corner me and beat me up. And when that stopped being amusing, they started interspersing the beatings with humiliating me. Their favorite game was to get me in the locker room before physical education, strip me naked and force me out into the gym with no clothes on. There were always other students around, but someone always let me back in before the teachers showed up."

"How old were you?" Michael asked.

"Eight when it started. Eleven when I graduated and got away from them," Zack said.

"Didn't you tell someone?" Brian asked.

Zack looked at Justin, who had experienced similar things, though not quite as bad as Zack. Ben, Brian and Seeley had all been big enough or tough enough to discourage the worst of the bullies, and Michael had been protected by Brian. Justin had been lucky and hadn't really faced it until his senior year when he was outed by the spray paint on Brian's jeep. "Telling just makes things worse," Justin said quietly. "The teachers can't or won't do anything and the bullies just get more pissed off that you tried to get them in trouble."

"Precisely," Zack said. "The worst was when they would find me alone on the way home from school. There weren't any teachers to worry about then." Seeley could tell that there was more to that part of the story, but Zack had said more than enough to get his point across to both Seeley and Michael and didn't want to say any more. "So when you get all worked up about a little pushing and shoving and name calling that happened twenty years ago, I'm sorry, but I think you are being very immature and petty."

"I feel duly chastised," Brian muttered.

"Yeah," Michael agreed.

"I need a cigarette," Justin muttered and wasn't surprised when Brian got up to head for the study with him. Michael and Ben, sensing that they were no longer wanted in the room left as well.

"You okay?" Seeley asked.

Zack nodded. "I don't like talking about that."

"I can understand that," Seeley said. "Can you tell me what else happened when you were walking home?"

Zack buried his head again. "They didn't rape me, if that's what you're thinking. They just… They would take me to this old shack that they called their club house. They had beer and liquor stashed there. They'd make me drink some of the alcohol and then make me take off my clothes. They'd make me do stuff—insignificant tasks like sweep the dirt floor with an old broom—just to watch me do it naked and taunt me. And sometimes they'd pinch me and leave bruises in places they shouldn't have touched. But they never raped me and after a while, they treated me more like a pet than anything. If I cooperated at the shack, they wouldn't beat me up or humiliate me at school the next day, so I did what they asked."

"God, Zack," Seeley said, his voice filled with emotion. "I'm so sorry that you went through that. I wish that I could go back and protect you from that. Even if it meant I never had a friend again for the rest of my life, I don't think I would have let anyone do that to another human being."

Zack looked up at his lover. "I know you would never have done what those boys did. That's partly why I love you. You've been standing up for weaker people most of your life. First with Jared, and then with the military, and then with the FBI, and now with me. Just because you had a lapse for a couple years, doesn't change the fact that you are innately a good man. And just like those experiences have shaped who you are today, my experiences have shaped who I am."

Seeley thought about that quietly for a time and then an awful thought struck him. "When we… when I'm being all bossy in bed and whatnot, is that… do you let me do that because of what they did to you?"

Zack shrugged. "In a way, but probably not the way you are worried about. What we do doesn't remind me of what they did in any way. What we do, we do for both of our pleasure. There is no humiliation and what pain there is to balance the pleasure. What we do, we do out of our love for each other. But… the fact that I want to be taken care of, to be protected, to belong to you? There is a part of that that stems from them. I want you to protect me because no one ever did when I was a child. Does that make sense?"

"I think so," Seeley said. "But I'll probably need you to reassure me again before it fully sinks in."

"All you need to remember is that I love you," Zack said and kissed Seeley. "And that I trust that if I was ever uncomfortable and asked you to stop that you would. There is no doubt in my mind. And that is what truly matters."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part Five**

"That's it!" Brian raged the next morning as he looked at the damage the psycho had done this time. "I've had it with this fucker! We are getting him and we are getting him today! I have a fucking bachelor party tonight and he is not fucking going to ruin that!"

Somehow, the maniac had gotten past the security measures overnight and spray painted Brian's corvette with slurs and threats.

"At least it isn't pink," Justin said, trying to find some humor in the incident.

"That security team is fucking useless," Brian muttered.

Tony walked up the driveway just then and said, "Not completely useless. They caught him on camera this time. He matches the photo we got from Abby this morning. This is definitely James Marston. And now that we have a name, it's only a matter of time before we get a trace on him using his credit cards. And then we'll get him."

"My son is supposed to get here tomorrow," Brian said. "If this isn't taken care of, there is no way he's coming anywhere near this house."

"We're going to get him," Seeley said with more confidence than he felt. "He's going to slip up and he's going to do it soon."

"There's one way that's sure to draw him out of hiding," House said casually. "Let me out in public."

"No way!" Chase denied vehemently. "Are you bloody mad? This maniac is trying to kill you! He's already shot you!"

"I didn't have three federal agents watching my back before," House said calmly. "I bet they even thought to bring a bullet proof vest."

"I hate to agree with House about anything, but he's right," Tony said. "We'd have a better shot at getting this guy if we can draw him out into the open."

"See!"

"But –!"

"We have more than just vests," Jethro said. "We also have two snipers who can protect you both from a distance. We just need to figure out the best place to set up shop."

"It has to be some place with no bystanders," Seeley said. "We don't want an innocent civilian injured."

Chase huffed angrily at the group. "Never mind that House could get hurt! Greg, please don't do this."

House took Chase aside while the feds discussed possible venues. "Robbie. I know this scares you, but I can't spend forever holed up behind these walls. Not to mention what all this is doing to Brian and Justin's wedding. Emmett and the grounds crew he hired have been banned from the property. How are they supposed to be ready for the wedding if they can't come here? And the maniac has been taking shots at my friends, our friends. I want this over and everyone safe. If that means I have to play the bait, then so be it. I trust that Jethro and the others won't let anything too horrible happen."

Chase allowed House to wrap him in his arms. He laid his head on House's shoulder and took a deep breath. "If you go, I'm going with you."

"Robbie—"

"What did you two decide?" Tony called over.

"We're both going," Chase said firmly. "And there won't be any arguing about it. I go where he goes."

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

House drove Chase's car out of the long driveway and turned left. Chase was beside him and Tony was in the back seat speaking to Jethro and Seeley through ear-wigs. Jethro and Seeley had left the property earlier to coordinate with the local police and to set up their sniper's nests. Brian and Justin had called up one of their neighbors and arranged to have his stables cleared out and the plain-clothes cops and Seeley were now there. If all went according to plan, everything would look completely normal when they drove into the stable yard. House couldn't imagine actually going to a stable willingly, but the maniac didn't know that. And if he did, House decided it probably wouldn't matter. The guy didn't seem to be afraid of anything.

The neighbor's stable entrance was only a couple miles away and it took less time than House would have liked for them to arrive. The property was fairly open, though there were trees along the roadway which could conceal a vehicle from sight long enough for the shooter to get to the stables. There were marked cars hidden and waiting on either end of the road to block his escape if it should come to that. As they pulled into the yard, House parked the car between two other vehicles. It was all part of the plan: keep to places where they could duck and cover when and if they needed.

"I love you," Chase said quietly and leaned over to kiss House.

"Back at ya," House said with a smile. "Ready Butch?"

"Ready Sundance," Chase said with a forced smile. And then they climbed from the car.

Tony was quick to follow suit. But the anticipation was prolonged once they were out in the open. One of the local cops came to greet them and the four of them talked between the cars for a while. There was no sign of the shooter according to Tony, who was getting updates from Jethro and Seeley.

"So I've been thinking of getting me one of these little foreign cars," the cop was saying. "But my girlfriend thinks that means I don't want kids."

"The back seat is a bit cramped," Tony said. "But it should be fine for—Get down!"

Chase pulled House down to the ground and covered his body with his own.

"While I appreciate how much you want me, I don't think this is the time or place for sex," House said into Chase's ear.

"House!" Chase scolded. Before he could say anything more, Tony was standing up and brushing the dust off his jeans.

"We're all clear," Tony told them. "Seeley got him in the hand and Jethro has him in custody. The local PD is going to take him in and they'll contact the Princeton PD to deal with the outstanding charges from the first two incidents. If you want to see him, now's the time."

Chase and House exchanged a glance. "I don't really care who he is."

"And I'm just happy he's been caught," Chase agreed.

"In that case, hang out here for a few minutes and then one of the locals will come to take your statement," Tony said. "We'll get you both out of here as quickly as we can. You might want to call Zack and let him know everyone's okay."

Chase nodded and made the call.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

Chase and House returned from the neighbors just before noon looking relieved. House, however, didn't say a word to anyone. He just limped through the gathered friends and headed for the stairs.

"He hurt his leg when we hit the ground," Chase explained. "Tony, Jethro and Seeley are still working with the local police. They said they'd be most of the afternoon, but we're off restricted movement. And you can reduce the security around here, Brian."

"So we can get the wedding back on track?" Justin asked. He didn't wait for an answer; instead he was on his phone and calling Emmett to get him and the workers back to work.

"Well, he's out of commission for the rest of the day," Brian said with fond amusement. "I've got a couple errands to run. You two want to ride along or would you rather hang out here?"

Zack and Chase looked at each other, quite surprised by the offer. Brian was not usually interested in spending time with either of them. "Um… sure?"

"Alright then," Brian said. "Get your jackets. We have places to go and people to see." They grabbed their coats and followed Brian out to the grafittied corvette. "First stop is to the body shop to get this baby repainted and to pick up the rental."

Zack was pleased that Brian had asked him to come along, but was rather perplexed as to why he had made the offer. They traded the corvette for a more sedate Lexus that actually had seats for three grown men and then went to the travel agent to finalize the honeymoon reservations. Chase had been embarrassed when the woman had assumed that he was Justin, but Brian laughed it off. Zack had spent much of the time there looking at brochures and speculating on places that he and Seeley could go on vacation. They hadn't gone anywhere but the inn since they had gotten together and Zack thought he'd like to go someplace together.

Brian stopped at a diner for a late lunch and Zack was surprised that they actually had things to talk about besides Justin and their friends. For instance, Brian had excelled in math and science in college, despite being a business and marketing major, and kept up with some of the science journals. The three actually discussed the advancements in genetic encoding and the impact it could have on the breeding of livestock. Zack was impressed that Brian knew as much as he did and could debate the topic intelligently. Chase was amused by Zack's assumption that Brian wasn't very smart. Chase knew he had to be extremely intelligent to be as successful as Brian was.

After lunch, they headed to the jewelry store to pick up the cuff links that Brian had ordered for the male attendants as well as the necklace for Daphne. He had also ordered matching cuff links, collar buttons and tie pins for him and Justin. While he dealt with the clerk, Chase was distracted by the selection of wedding bands and Zack followed him over to that display.

"You don't have to wait for him to ask," Brian said, startling Chase.

Chase shook his head. "He'd never…"

"Not if you don't ask," Brian agreed. "He'll never think to do it himself. But there is no reason you can't do the asking."

"Did Justin ask you this time?" Zack wondered. They were all still curious about how Brian had proposed this time. The brunet had refused to let Justin tell them.

"No," Brian said shortly and then turned his attention back to Chase. "He's an emotional retard. I know because I was one too. If Justin hadn't made it very clear what he wanted from me, I never would have let him move in, let alone proposed. He had to beat it into my head until I actually started thinking in terms of us and we and all that other lesbian-touchy-feely-emotional shit. By then, I was so fucked that I asked him. I'm still fucked, or else I wouldn't be spending a fortune on a wedding for the twink.

"But House won't ever change that much," Brian continued. "You'll spend the rest of your lives leading him through all the emotional shit. If he's who you want, then that's what you'll have to do."

"I don't mind most of the time," Chase muttered in embarrassment. "He's worth the extra trouble. And I know he loves me even if he's…"

"…Neglectful, rude and manipulative?"

"Yeah," Chase chuckled. "He is all those things, but he's also a lot more than that. I complained last year that we didn't do enough of the things I want to do. He said that he's going to take advantage of me, without even thinking about it, if I don't speak up and tell him what I want."

"Exactly," Brian said. "So if you want this, you have to speak the fuck up, because your boyfriend will not take the hint."

"Right," Chase said with a small grin and he turned back to the display case with more purpose this time.

"What about me? Should I ask Seeley, too?" Zack wondered idly, not entirely sure he could do that even if Brian told him he should.

Brian actually laughed at that. "No. No, you and Seeley have a much different dynamic than House and Chase. You should be patient and Seeley will give you everything you ever wanted, and even a few things you never knew you wanted. Seeley understands emotions and how to treat the people you love better than any of us, except maybe Justin. I have no idea how he pulled that shit off, considering we had pretty similar childhoods."

"I think you turned out pretty great," Zack said shyly. "You must have if Justin loves you as much as he does. And you've been very good to your friends. You helped Ryan and Jerry. You helped your friend Emmett. You've helped me and Tony and Chase with our relationships. You took in House and Chase when a maniac was after them. You may not know how to express your feelings, but it's pretty clear that you care about all of us and that you are one of the most generous people I know."

Brian actually blushed with that pronouncement and he was glad that Chase was too busy trying on some wedding band to pay attention to them. "Don't go spouting that bullshit to everyone. I have a reputation to uphold. It's bad enough Justin goes around telling people I'm a romantic. I don't need you telling them a fucking generous. I am not generous and I am not kind."

Zack smiled. He recognized this response from watching Brian and Justin together. He knew that Brian was embarrassed by the praise, but pleased nonetheless. He just didn't know how to show it—or didn't want to show it. "I'll keep it a secret. But you really are." And he gave Brian a hug that was less uncomfortable than either of them expected.


	6. Chapter 6

**Part Six**

Babylon was alive and filled with much of Pittsburgh's gay population. Not a single queer in the city wanted to miss out on the invitation-only bachelor party of Pittsburgh's most notorious couple. The fact that Brian Kinney, the Stud of Liberty Avenue, was finally settling down with his blond angel was big news. What was even more attractive was the ability to bear witness to what was sure to be one of the biggest parties ever to hit Pittsburgh.

Babylon had been closed for two days in preparation for the bachelor party, leaving everyone wondering what was going on inside. When it was finally revealed, photos were taken with camera-phones and shot through cyberspace so that those unlucky enough to be without invitation could drool over what they were missing.

Babylon had been turned into one huge live porn show. The go-go boys had been replaced with gay porn stars that were placed strategically on the expanded dance platforms throughout the club as the pairs and trios acted out every gay man's sexual fantasy. On the stage, a giant mattress had been placed and no less than twenty men were writhing together in a mass of bodies and sex. Above the dance floor and in strategic places through out the club, large screens gave altering views of the live show while the music and lights encouraged an atmosphere of licentious behavior.

Brian Kinney had created the world's largest orgy.

"Is that Zack O'Toole?" Emmett wondered from his place near the bar. He had come in with Michael, Ben, Ted, Blake and Calvin.

"Looks like it to me," Calvin said.

"Brian had me use all my old porn contacts to get these guys in here," Ted explained. "There are almost one hundred models rotating through the club in shifts. And yes, that is Zack O'Toole. And over there on the S&M platform is Master Jack; he's the most popular Dom in the leather scene. Then there's…"

The others let Ted go on about the porn stars, but stopped paying much attention. In fact, they were all waiting for Brian and Justin to arrive. Emmett was curious to see how their friends would react to the show. They all seemed to be more conservative than their group of friends from Pittsburgh.

As soon as Brian and Justin arrived, the music lowered, the lights raised and everyone in the club cheered the stud and the former King of Babylon. And then the party started back up again. Emmett watched intently as the others filed into the club in pairs. Zack and Seeley were first. Seeley's eyes widened, but he other wise kept a straight face. Zack, on the other hand, blushed but couldn't seem to take his eyes off of the sexual acts happening all around them. He reached up to whisper something in Seeley's ear. Seeley looked over to where Zack was pointing—Emmett realized it was the S&M platform—and got a feral look in his eyes before claiming Zack's mouth in a hungry kiss.

The next through the doors were House and Chase. House grinned like a kid who's been let loose in a candy store and Chase laughed. House was quickly leading his lover from station to station to get better views of the various models.

Finally, Jethro and Tony walked through the doors and Emmett swallowed. Of all of Brian and Justin's friends, Emmett worried about Jethro's response the most. And Jethro did respond, just not in the way that Emmett would have predicted. He got an amused smirk on his face and put his hand out to Tony, who passed him some money. Obviously the two had made a bet on the nature of the party and Jethro had won. The two made their way over to the bar and once they had drinks, Emmett approached.

"Glad you could make it," Emmett said. "Brian's parties tend to be over the top, so I hope you aren't too uncomfortable."

"Not at all," Jethro said politely. "We're here to celebrate."

Tony grinned. "He's lying. He's very uncomfortable. We'll do the polite thing and then have the limo take us back to the house."

Jethro narrowed his eyes. "I am not uncomfortable. And why would we leave early?"

"Come on, Jethro," Tony said with a teasing lilt to his voice. "You? Dancing and participating in voyeuristic activities? I just can't see it."

"I see," Jethro said with deadly calm. It was the tone that told Tony he had stepped in it this time. Jethro swallowed down the rest of his double bourbon and handed his glass to Tony. "See ya." And then he was disappearing into the throng of gyrating dancers.

"Oh shit," Tony muttered as he tried to keep track of his lover as he began to dance with some stranger.

"Well?" Emmett prompted. "The men at Brian's parties are vultures. They will strip him naked on the dance floor if you don't go lay your claim! Get out there!"

In fact, Jethro's shirt was missing by the time Tony fought his way through the crowd and found his lover. He didn't look to be in distress, however. In fact, he was moving very sensually in time to the music, grinding with some dark haired twink that thought he'd found a daddy. Tony scowled and pushed his way between the two and insinuated himself in Jethro's personal space. Jethro quirked a brow but allowed the intrusion. In fact, he pulled Tony's hips to his own and let their bodies move together in a way that was at once new and familiar.

Emmett, from his spot by the bar, smiled as he watched the two. He turned his attention to House and Chase who were now making out rather heatedly near the stairs to the catwalk. Brian and Justin were leading two tricks to the back room and stopped to whisper something in House's ear. House grinned and soon was dragging a laughing Chase through to the back room. Emmett knew that House' was adventurous, but had never believed that Chase would be quite that daring. Guess it was a night for him to be proved wrong.

He decided not to speculate about Seeley and Zack. In fact, he had completely lost track of them in the mass of bodies. Then he spotted them near the entrance to the dancer's dressing room. Seeley was talking animatedly with that Dom that Ted had gushed over earlier while Zack ducked his head and whispered to the man's sub. Zack had lost his shirt along the way and was now sporting a collar and leash. Emmett supposed they were fine. With a shrug, he allowed Calvin to pull him onto the dance floor.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"Daddy!" Brian and Justin both groaned simultaneously as Gus shouted and jumped up on the bed between them. "Daddy, we're here! Aren't you glad to see me?"

Brian grimaced blearily at his son and muttered, "Ecstatic. Where's you Mom?"

"She's down stairs," Gus said with a frown. "You aren't happy I'm here."

"We're both very happy you're here," Justin said as he tried to sit up without puking. "Your dad and I are just not feeling very well today."

"You're sick?" Gus asked. ""Cause Mommy takes good care of me when I'm sick. I could get her."

"No," Brian grunted. "That's okay. We'll be okay. Just gives us a few minutes to take some medicine and shower, okay Sonny Boy?"

"Sure dad," Gus said, but he didn't sound certain.

"Why don't you go tell you mom that we'll be down soon?" Justin suggested.

"Okay," Gus said. He started to scramble off the bed, but Brian stopped him and pulled him into a hug.

"I missed you Sonny Boy," Brian whispered to his son.

"I missed you too, daddy," Gus whispered back, not really sure if that was supposed to be a secret or not. He hugged Justin too and then was gone from the room.

"I'm going to kill Mel," Brian said.

Justin chuckled. "Lindsey is just as sadistic. It could have been her."

"No way Lindsey would do that to me," Brian denied, but even he wasn't convinced.

XOXOXOXOXOX

And hour, four ibuprophen each, and a very long hot shower later, Brian and Justin made their way down to greet their visitors in the dining room. Thankfully, Gus and JR had been distracted by the television in the study and the room was semi-quiet.

"Jesus," Mel muttered when she saw them. "You two look like zombies. No wonder Gus told us his dad and his Justin are sick."

"You knew we had the party last night," Brian said accusingly even as he accepted the mug of coffee from Lindsey.

"And you just had to overindulge in all things illegal and immoral," Lindsey said sweetly. "And now you are paying the price. Don't blame us for your excesses."

"We didn't do anything illegal," Justin said quietly as he drank his coffee and tried to decide if his stomach could handle the Danishes that were sitting on a plate on the table. He shrugged and chose to take a chance.

Brian watched Justin stuff a Danish into his mouth and grimaced. "We were surrounded by federal agents. Couldn't do anything illegal."

"Does weed count?" Justin asked. "Cause we did smoke some of that before we left for the club."

"Doesn't count," Brian said.

"So where are these other friends of yours that we've been hearing so much about?" Lindsey asked. "Of course, we've had to hear about them from our _other_ friends, since you two don't seem to share anything anymore."

"They are recovering from last night, I assume," Brian said. "They had quite the time last night."

Just then, the front door opened and Zack and Seeley entered, looking hot and sweaty from a run. It was a good look on them, but it made Brian feel like shit.

"Fuck. You two were out running?" Justin muttered, voicing Brian's thoughts.

"We saw Jethro and Tony out too," Seeley said as he poured two glasses of juice and handed one to Zack. "Hi, I'm Seeley and this is Zack."

"Nice to meet you," Mel said and shook his hand. Once the introductions were out of the way, Mel asked, "So how did you two end up not resembling the living dead this morning? Victims of Brian's parties usually need at least 24 hours to recover."

"Guests," Brian corrected mutinously, though he didn't deny the rest.

"Zack doesn't drink," Seeley explained. "And I don't usually drink more than one or two drinks in an evening. We definitely had a good time last night even without being drunk."

"I'll say," Justin agreed and chuckled when Zack blushed.

Zack looked at the women and leaned to whisper to Justin, though everyone could hear, "I did not realize that everyone could see us."

"Well, you were on a platform," Brian answered him mildly. "It may have been lowered for the models to change, but it was a platform and it was bound to be put back in place eventually."

"You put your friends on display?" Mel asked aghast.

"Not on purpose," Brian said. "And it isn't like I had the controls to the platform."

"That was my fault," Seeley admitted. "I leaned against the controls and up we went. I realized almost right away what had happened, but to be honest, I was a little distracted and didn't really care at that particular moment."

Zack nodded as he remembered. "And it was kind of hot being watched like that."

"You corrupt everyone you meet, don't you?" Mel asked Brian.

"Yep!" Brian said happily.

"I don't think he could corrupt House," Justin said. "He was too busy corrupting himself. Now that is a man who knows how to have a good time."

"I was rather shocked that Chase agreed to include another man," Seeley said.

Brian snorted. "Agreed? He suggested it and asked me who would be a good candidate to ask."

"Tony and Jethro were on the dance floor most of the night," Justin said. "And I know they made a trip or two to the back room. I'm surprised that they had enough energy to run this morning."

"Daddy!"

Talk of the bachelor party had to be set aside in favor of small ears, but Brian knew that it would be an event that all of queer Pittsburgh would be discussing for years to come. That made it a success in his books. He leaned over to pull his son into his lap and listened very intently as Gus explained to Justin how he had convinced his moms to move home to Pittsburgh. It was going to be a great day, he decided, despite the hangover.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part Seven**

The weather was perfect; it was unseasonably warm and sunny for late October and when the guests arrived for the ceremony, they were guided along a newly laid brick path to the field next to the lake on the far side of the house. It was an idyllic spot and Justin had chosen it specifically because when the sun set over the hills, it would reflect in the lake and make for a spectacular sight. It was actually one of the blond's favorite places to sketch.

The brick path ended next to the lake in a large gazebo that Emmett had decorated with swags of leaves and fall flowers. On either side of the brick path portable parquet flooring had been set up to accommodate the seats for two hundred guests. Everything had been decorated with fall flowers and leaves as well as red, plum and brown swags and ribbons. Another brick walkway had been laid to bring the guests back up to the poolside, where the reception would be held later, and both walkways had been lined with hanging lanterns that fit with both the décor of the wedding and the style of the house.

Emmett was at his best as he marshaled his troops. He had the ushers—Blake, Seeley, Chase and Tony—seating the guests as they arrived. He had Calvin working with the catering staff to prepare for the reception and he had Jethro and House babysitting the grooms. Not because he thought they would bolt or get nervous. He had them watched because he was pretty sure that if he didn't they would end up late for the wedding because they were too busy fucking in a closet somewhere. And if they were late, they would miss the sun setting behind then as they recited their vows.

But the time finally came Emmett signaled for the string quartet to begin to play the music that Justin had chosen for their wedding processional. Emmett smiled when he heard the muted strains of "Save the Last Dance" being played. That smile widened when some of the guests began to recognize the song.

Then Zack and Ted were at the end of the walkway and Emmett sent them down the aisle. They split at the front and then Michael was escorting Daphne to the front. Too old to be a flower girl and too young to be a full attendant, Molly was next and had been listed in the program as a junior attendant. Gus on the other hand was excited to be the ring bearer and took his role very seriously. Each of the wedding party had custom made chocolate colored Armani suits with crimson shirts and plum ties—or a crimson and plum Dior dress with a chocolate sash in Daphne and Molly's case—and looked absolutely fabulous. Emmett had to give it to Brian: he knew how to dress himself and others.

Then Brian was escorting Debbie to the front. He was dressed in Armani as well, but his suit was a lighter shade of brown, almost gold. He wore a shirt that had the plum, crimson and gold stripes and a gold tie. He looked devastatingly handsome. And Debbie looked pretty good as well. It was obvious that Justin and Brian had convinced her to go with Jennifer for a makeover before the wedding. She was slightly more muted than usual, and yet looked younger and happier than Emmett could ever remember seeing her. Once he had brought her to her seat, he gave her a kiss on the cheek and went to join Michael and Ted.

Justin and his mom were a sight to behold. Justin's suit was plum colored and his shirt matched Brian's but his tie was crimson. Jennifer looked radiant in her red dress, much too young to have a child Justin's age. Justin walked her to her seat and, like Brian, gave her a kiss on the cheek before going to join Brian at the front.

The officiant began from the gazebo. "These two men have chosen to join their lives together as one, but they have not come to this point alone. It is because of the guidance and love of two very special women that they have been able to become the men you see before you today. And so, on behalf of Brian and Justin, I would like to thank you Jennifer and Debbie."

There were tears in Debbie's eyes as Brian mouthed his personal thanks. Justin and Jennifer exchanged a smile, and then the two mothers were seated beside their respective men and the ceremony began.

Like all such ceremonies, there were parts that dragged and parts that were forgettable. But the most special moments were when Brian and Justin exchanged their vows with the golden, orange and crimson sky reflected in the lake behind them:

"Out of all the people in the world, it seemed impossible that I would find the one person who could complete me, body, heart, mind and soul; who could make me laugh and cry in equal measures; who could brighten my day with his smile and warm the cold nights with his body; who could bring color to a life that had always been shades of gray. Until I met you. And so I make these promises to you: I promise to love you forever; And hold you if the darkness should fall; I promise to leave you never; And always come for you should you call."

This was followed by the recitation exchange of the more traditional vows. Though Brian had teased Justin about how sappy and ridiculously romantic the vows were when he found them online, when it came time to recite them, he was more emotional than he was prepared to be; his voice broke more than once and his eyes were suspiciously bright. Justin's smile was radiant when he took his turn, though his eyes were bright as well. When the time came for them to exchange rings, both men's hands were shaking as they placed the platinum band on his lover's finger.

But when the officiant said that they could kiss, the mood lightened considerably as Brian swooped in and claimed Justin in such a way as to make many present blush and more than a few to become aroused. When Brian pulled away, he had a rakish grin on his face, as though he had just pulled off the scheme of the millennia. And perhaps he had.

XOXOXOXOXOX

"The dance floor above the pool was an ingenious idea," Seeley told Brian hours later. Seeley had given in and had more than his usual limit of two drinks with all of the toasts and champagne flowing freely. Zack was giggling like mad and Seeley was feeling more relaxed than he could remember being—without having sex first—in a long time. "The way the colored lights reflect through water and the floor is amazing."

"Thanks," Brian said. "But it isn't there to admire. Go! Dance!"

"Right!" Seeley said happily as he pulled Zack towards the glowing dance floor and the crowds of people congregated there.

Brian shook his head in fond exasperation. Justin, who had been talking to a few of Brian's employees, caught him and smiled. "What?"

"Seeley," Brian said. "He's going to propose. I'm sure of it. But he's drinking to get his courage up. If he keeps it up, he'll be too plastered to remember it."

"Maybe it's time to intervene and get some coffee and food into him," Justin said.

Brian took Justin into his arms and kissed him. "Get one of the others to do that and then meet me in the back hall."

"Brian, we can't sneak out of our own reception," Justin said, scandalized, but his flush of arousal said he'd do it. "Fine, just give me five minutes."

Brian grinned and Justin went to find someone to take over babysitting duties for Seeley and Zack. When he found Jethro and Tony talking quietly in a corner of the tent, he asked them to help Seeley sober up and then he was rushing off to meet Brian.

"Wonder what the rush was," Tony said as they joined Jerry at their table. Jethro gave Tony a meaningful look and the younger man realized. "Oh. Right. Not a bad idea really."

"We have to go get Seeley," Jethro reminded him.

"He's coming this way," Tony said and soon Zack and Seeley had joined them at their table. "Having fun?"

"Probably a little too much," Seeley admitted. The dancing had sobered him up a bit. "The waiters just kept refilling my glass with champagne. I guess I didn't realize how much I was drinking."

"Have some more food," Jethro advised. "And I've got a pot of coffee coming."

"He's always got coffee coming," Tony said ruefully.

House and Chase soon joined them. There had been a cocktail hour with hors d'oeuvres followed by the meal. Then the toasts and dancing had begun. Now, there was a buffet of finger sandwiches and more hors d'oeuvres for guests to snack on while they danced and drank the night away.

The group soon had more food on their plates and was watching as the many guests mixed and mingled. They had met a few of Brian and Justin's friends, but there were still hundreds of people who were complete strangers. Of course, many of them were strangers to Brian and Justin's Pittsburgh friends as well. There were employees and clients from Kinnetik. There were a few of their neighbors. There were people that Justin knew from college. It didn't really seem to matter that none of those groups knew each other because Brian just had a knack for making people loosen up and have a good time. Even though the reception wasn't nearly as outlandish as the bachelor party had been, there was still a similarity between the two.

Brian and Justin returned and the four couples all looked at each other in silence for a minute.

"So?" Brian asked.

Seeley nodded and gave him a look. "Alright." He turned to Zack and gave him a soft kiss and a softer smile. "Zack. I've been thinking about this for a long time and I kept trying to find the perfect time and place to say this, but I realized that there is no perfect time and there are no perfect words. The only thing that is perfect is us, together. So… I want to ask if you'll marry me and make that a permanent thing." He held out a box with two wedding bands inside.

Zack glanced at the rings but wasn't really interested in the trappings. He was more interested in Seeley. "Of course," he said in his plain and no-nonsense way.

There were cheers from the other men around the table; though Brian and House just scoffed you could tell they were happy for the couple as well. Seeley and Zack seemed oblivious as they kissed and then snuggled together.

A silence fell over the table once more. Brian gave Chase a significant look and Chase nodded. He took a deep breath and bluted out, "House, I wanna get married."

House turned to Chase with some surprise. "Really? Why?"

Chase rolled his eyes and said, "Because we love each other and that's what people do when they are in love."

"Oh," House shrugged. "Okay. But I don't want all this…" He waved his hand and indicated the reception going on around them with distaste. "Just us and a few friends."

Chase swallowed back his excitement and nodded. "Anything you want." House got a gleam in his eyes and Chase back pedaled. "Well, not _**anything**_. We are not having midget wrestlers at our reception."

Brian looked at Jethro and Tony after the laughter died out from Chase's last statement.

"Don't look at me like that," Jethro muttered. "We already did the deed."

"What?" Seeley asked in shock.

"When?" the others wanted to know.

"A couple weeks ago," Tony said with a wide grin. "We went to the courthouse and did it. That's what we wanted."

"I told Tony we would have a party to celebrate at some point," Jethro said. "Thought early December might be a good time, before things get too crazy with the holidays."

"We'll be there," Justin promised for them. The others were soon joining in.

And then talk turned to other topics. "When do you make the move, Jerry?"

"The renovations should be finished next week," Jerry said. "Then Emmett and Calvin are coming a few days after that to settle in. I'll show them the ropes for a couple weeks and then head south after that."

"You should stick around until the party," Tony said. "We want to have you there. In fact, why don't you come stay that whole week? We've got the guest room cleared out now, so that Jethro's dad can visit. You'd be more than welcome."

"And we'd get a chance to visit," Seeley said.

"Well, I'll have to think about that," Jerry said, but his smile said that he'd be there.

Emmett came over and claimed Brian and Justin's attention. "You need to cut the cake. Some of the older guests are ready to go home."

"We'll be there in a minute," Brian said and brushed the tall man off. When Emmett was gone, Brian grabbed the bottle of champagne he'd been hiding and poured some in each of their glasses. Once everyone's glass was full, he smiled at their friends. "Two years ago, when we showed up at the inn, I never would have believed that we'd end up here."

"Married," Justin said.

"Deliriously happy," Seeley added.

"Friends," Jethro said quietly.

Brian nodded at Jethro. "Yeah. Friends. I thought I had all the friends I would ever need, but you guys came along, and now… I'm glad we have you. So, to friends."

"To friends!"

**The End**

**A/N:** So that's _Rage_. It ended up being three chapters longer than I thought it would be. That's a good thing, right? One story left in the series. If you've made it this far, you really should see it through to the end. _Winter at the Inn_ will be posted tomorrow! Thanks for your reviews and wonderful support! Jules


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